Features Reporter
Photo by Brian Wise
Grand Junction gamers compete in Plasma Sword for Sega Dreamcast, one of the day's free tournaments.
The Gamers of Western Colorado (GOWC) took to the University Center game room all day Saturday for its March Mayhem gaming tournament. Gamers tried to climb up the brackets by testing their skills in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, King of Fighters XIII and Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate.
“The tournament’s atmosphere is fantastic,” Dylan Blount, GOWC president, said. “Everybody just plays games to test each other out and have fun.”
Each game had a $5 entry fee to raise funds for the club. GOWC also provided several free tournaments and encouraged gamers to bring in any multiplayer games they wanted.
“People pay to get in because they want to test their skills against whoever’s the best in the area, against whatever game they are playing,” Blount said.
Blount, his fiance Melissa Vargas and former CMU student Lance Baker founded GOWC in 2009. Blount and Baker were working together during the graveyard shift at Lowe’s Home Improvement when he asked Baker if he wanted to start a gaming tournament. Baker agreed and the next day they were figuring out what they had to do to build their first Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament on campus.
Eventually, the club set their sights on “finding more people they could play and have fun with,” Blount said.
GOWC looked beyond campus to find more people in Grand Junction who liked playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Once more people got attracted to the organization, the tournaments got bigger and they were approved to become sanctioned, allowing the club to meet every week.
Gilbert Leos, a sophomore and member of GOWC, has been gaming his entire life.
“Gaming gets me to relieve stress for when I’m studying,” Leos said. “We all play to have fun.”
Although Leos claimed he was “not really on [his] game,” he has played against a majority of the tournament players at previous GOWC events. He worried about his competition against other players that are competing in this tournament that come from outside of campus.
“Gaming is something anybody can get into, it doesn’t matter the age,” Blount said. “We’re experiencing stories through a different medium than most people are used to.”
GOWC meets in Dominguez Hall every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in room 110.
bpwise@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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